The Fourth Night
by OrigamiPrayers
Summary: An AkuRoku oneshot. Something about those eyes reminded him of his dreams, of something that didn’t belong to Sora.


Being eternally in the stage between night and day left the internal clock of most of the residents of Twilight Town working to the point of perfection. Roxas, however, often found he was unused to the constant orange tint to the sky, even after living here for so long. Not to mentions the dreams that plagued him were growing more complicated, more scattered and full of static, leaving him restless despite the fact he would rest.

Looking back on the previous events of today he tried his best to smile. He had won the Struggle Tournament, fallen off a building and survived, and finally had fallen asleep after such a strange and confusing turn of events. It wasn't as though that was he wasn't used to that feeling anymore. There were the random attacks, that strange guy in the black coat, and the fact he should technically have died after falling off of the clock tower. He couldn't put his finger on everything, as he turned in his bed, blue eyes closing to let the dreams come, as they always did.

There was Kairi with her pretty hair and eyes.

Static.

The boy with silver hair.

Static.

Donald and Goofy.

Static…and then there was darkness. He was aware of the darkness, and it seemed out of place compared to the normal way his dreams worked.

Then there was the man from earlier today, Axel. Those green eyes stared through his, as if they had found his soul, fingers touching his cheek, his hair, his chest. They dragged downwards, and he could hear the older male speak, although he couldn't tell what he was saying.

Static.

He watched himself fighting alongside the other male, keyblades swirling in a complex dance as the other male swung his weapons, fire encompassing his enemies as he smirked back at Roxas, again his lips moving although the words were never spoken.

Static.

He was crying in the red head's strong arms, the man stroking his back and making such comforting gestures as he rocked them back and forth on the ground, his eyes closing as he kissed his blond hair…

Sitting up quickly, Roxas felt the world was spinning around him. It was obviously sunrise outside, but the young male knew it to be the middle of the night. Even the sky was confusing him now. Part of him just wanted this all to end and his life to go back to normal, and the other part of him wanted to know just exactly what was going on. Shaking his head, he ran a hand through his hair, and looked out the window.

There was a flash of red hair.

Moving out of bed, not changing out of his pajamas, the blond threw on a pair of shoes and ran downstairs. Heading towards the street where he spotted Axel, he caught his breath and tried to think of what to do. Not sure whether to call out to the other male or not, he decided to go with the option of following him. Staying slightly back, he walked behind the man in the long jacket. They winded down streets and alleys until Axel stopped in front of the Clock Tower, shaking his head as though someone had spoken to him.

"Roxas, I know you're there." He chuckled, although Roxas heard the bitterness in his voice. "You could never sneak up on me, you know?"

Stopping, the blond waited for the battle to start, and for Axel to start dragging him away from here and he'd have to pull out the keyblade although he didn't know how. It'd be just like earlier. He knew this to be true.

But the male never turned around, still staring straight ahead and breaking his predication. "Come on; let's go on top of the tower. We'll…talk."

"Why can't we talk here?" The reply was quick, frustrated, and Roxas wondered if Axel was prepared for it, because he could almost hear the other male smirk as he responded, finally turning to look at him.

"Because…although you won't remember this tomorrow, I will…and I want it to be on the Clock Tower." Green eyes were so intense, almost heavy, and he had to look away from them, staring at his shoes that clashed with his pajamas. Something about those eyes reminded him of his dreams and of something that didn't belong to Sora.

He took a step closer to Axel. "Let's go."

It took them a few moments to ascend the stairs of the tower, both parties silent as they reached the top overlooking over the streets and buildings. Immediately, Axel sat down along the edge, looking out at the sun that never moved. Blue eyes watched closely, carefully, as if the man would do something drastic like jump of the edge. The tone in his voice suggested to the smaller male that he was not happy about something, and for some reason Roxas wanted to know, needed to know.

Axel spoke first. "You know…our first day together, it ended here. Well, sort of."

"Sort of?" Quirking an eyebrow, Roxas hesitantly walked over to the other male, sitting near him. So far, the red head was leaving him with more questions than answers.

A chuckle escaped past thin lips, as the taller male shook his head. "It'd be too hard to explain. And by the time I finished with telling you what it means, they'll have the computer back up. You'll forget all about this. Sora doesn't need what I have to say."

"Again with the talk of Sora! Everything in my dreams is about him…always." His voice held his frustration, and he pulled up his knees, resting his head on them as his arms wrapped around himself. "I thought you could change that."

"You have no idea how much I wish that was possible." Axel couldn't look at him as he spoke. "But I'm not…in a position right now to do anything more than this. On the sixth day, I'll have to try and kill you if you won't return with me. And even if you did come with me, we'd have to be constantly on the run from the Organization and everyone else."

He paused, and Roxas actually felt his chest hurt as the man turned to look at him. Axel spoke again. "I can't lose you forever…and if I tried to save you now, you could be destroyed."

The blond was even more confused than before, and he could feel his mind trying to process the words, feeling words click and began to buzz in head, whirring to life and then dying again. His mind was an engine that would not start. It made him more frustrated than before.

"Axel…my dreams, they were-" he began, but Axel finished it.

"They were memories of me and you. I'd hope they'd bring you back to me, if only for tonight." The voice was soft, near his ear, and Roxas tried to pull back, but the hand on his arm held him close. "Did they, Roxas?"

A flash and he remembered soft hands on his skin, fingers dancing along the muscles of his body. Another flash and Axel was watching him closely, faces only inches apart. Roxas had forgotten how to breathe. This situation in his mind, the feeling in it felt more real than anything in his dreams; so familiar to him that it was almost frightening. This felt more real to him than his friends, than the struggle matches.

Slightly numb and in shock as he was pulled back into the moment, his fingers itching to do something, and he decided to let them go where they desired. Slowly, they moved to the thick red spikes of hair, running through the strands slowly, and he watched as green eyes closed. If he didn't know any better, he'd swear he'd done this before, felt this before.

Axel moved closer still, their bodies touching anytime either of them moved, and Roxas' felt more adrenaline pumping through his system. He could hardly breathe.

"Apparently, part of you remembers." The taller male said with a chuckle.

Pulling his hands away, Roxas could feel his very being protest and he closed his eyes, trying to clear out everything in his mind. Axel rubbed his temples for him, and he looked up, surprised.

Green eyes looked so softly at him. "This is too much for you. I tried…but it'll never, I can never…"

Whatever he needed to do, Roxas was willing to take the risk to follow the first thing that had felt right in ages, and do the only thing that seemed clear in his head. Pulling the other male forward into a strong kiss, his hands tangled in the long hair to keep their mouths crushed together. Axel took little time to respond and groaned into the kiss, mouth latching onto the blond's as though it was everything as he rolled them, pushing them onto the balcony safe from the ledge.

Roxas took a breath from the shock, and in that moment the taller male straddled him, capturing his mouth and devouring it whole. Everything about the kiss tingled in the smaller male's stomach, his chest aching for more, hands keeping Axel from pulling back too far from him.

Another flash like before, and he could feel Axel's naked form over him, kissing his ear, pushing into his body. Like it was happening in this moment, not a memory, there was touching and caressing and confessions of words too soft to hear. He should be shocked or ashamed, but rather it filled him to the brim, and he for the first time in so long, was satisfied by what he was remembering.

Falling back into reality, the blond stared up at the red head, blue eyes flickering away as the smile on the other male's face turned so soft that it pained him. "You're remembering me."

Roxas nodded, turning slightly out of embarrassment and fear. Axel used this opportunity to kiss and tease the slim neck and jaw. A shiver ran down the blond's spine. This was an echo from the past, something so familiar and right. Voice tainted with mixed emotions, he bit back a moan and spoke to his captor. "I think…I think you loved me."

"The closest thing to love I can ever have, Roxas." Another kiss, soft and gentle, was placed to his lips before Axel pulled back, resting his forehead on the smaller boy's. "And you will forget this, you will forget me, but…I will find you again, I promise."

This confession, from a man he barely remembered, left the blond shaking, eyes forcing themselves closed as to hold back the tears. Axel was the only thing he understood in this world anymore, and when he was with him, he didn't feel scared or lost. He didn't feel empty now, and he wanted it to stay that way.

"I don't want to forget you." It was whispered as he tried to open his eyes and not spill tears "Axel, I don't! I want to remember you, remember how you make me feel!" He was angry now, angry at whatever was keeping them apart. Did it not care what it was doing to them? Was it truly that cold and heartless?

Axel closed his eyes, chuckling in a way that seemed more like a sob. Roxas was crying now, not understanding why he still couldn't remember it all, and why he knew, just _knew_ he was going to forget.

"Roxas…" It was soft, as their lips meant again. "You're fading."

He could feel it. "No…"

Axel kept kissing him, only pausing to speak. "I'll find you."

"I promise, Axel…I promise in the end I'll remember you…" His eyes felt weak, his body wouldn't listen to him as he looked up, trying to keep everything of Axel's face and eyes in his mind. But it was being sucked away. The last thing he heard before fading into the darkness was the softest of mutterings,

"Don't make promises you can't keep, kid."

Eyes flew open, but his head felt too heavy to move. Roxas groaned, putting a hand over his face. He didn't feel rested, in fact, he felt more terrible than he had ever felt waking up in his life. Sitting up, he touched his face again, for some reason he was only slightly surprised to be crying.

--

(A/N: So, we are cut off before Roxas falls asleep in the game. I used my imagination, and filled in the gaps of what might have happened if Axel meddled a little more than he did and got into the false reality a little more…and it got angst-filled, my specialty. I'm suffering some hard times with my boyfriend, so this was my relief.

And seeing as this was such a hard time, I'd like to thank all of my reviewers, the people who favorite me, and my readers too. You guys have really kept my spirits up through some hard times. Every comment telling me that you loved a piece and that I am writing well has made me smile. I wish I had enough space to thank you all! )


End file.
